Navy Retiring 3 Nuclear Missiles

Weapons Seen Limited In Value In Defending Modern U.s. Fleet

WASHINGTON — The Navy is quietly phasing out the three types of short-range nuclear missiles it would use for warfare at sea, in an important change in the service's thinking.

The Navy's move reflects budgetary pressures as well as growing sentiment in the Navy that short-range nuclear weapons for ocean combat with enemy submarines and airplanes have limited value in defending the fleet.

The U.S. Navy is superior to the Soviet navy in aircraft carriers and other surface ships that would be put at grave risk in a nuclear sea battle.

The Navy remains strongly committed to other types of sea-based nuclear weapons, including long-range cruise missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

Rear Adm. George N. Gee, director of the Navy's Surface Combat Systems Division, confirmed the Navy's decision, which already is being put into effect.

Gee described the move as a "very low-risk practical decision by the Navy," even though the Soviet Union has a large and more varied force of short-range naval nuclear weapons.

Navy officials say the decision, which has the support of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, senior military commanders in the field and the defense secretary, reflects concerns over the limited utility of the short-range nuclear weapons, a belief that non-nuclear weapons have improved greatly during the years and an assessment that the Navy's remaining nuclear weapons are adequate to deter an attack.

Vice Adm. Henry C. Mustin, who served as deputy chief of naval operations for plans, policy and operations until last year, said the move represented an evolution in Navy thinking about nuclear weapons for war at sea.

"There is a recognition that if there is a nuclear war at sea, we have got more to lose than the Russians," said Mustin, who retired this year. "The concept of a nuclear war at sea is a concept whose time has passed. It is in the interest of the country to persuade the Soviets that the time has passed." This does not mean the Navy is giving up all nuclear weapons.

its long-range Tomahawk nuclear-tipped cruise missiles that are fired from American submarines and ships to attack targets on land.

The Navy also is updating its arsenal of air-dropped nuclear bombs, which can be used by planes launched from aircraft carriers to attack Soviet territory, as well as ships and submarines. The Navy also has land-based planes for dropping depth bombs on enemy submarines.

Nor has the Navy ruled out replacements for the short-range missiles that are being phased out. But the Navy has no immediate plans for replacements, and some experts doubt that such rockets ever will be developed.

As outlined by Navy officials, the service is taking the following steps:

It is retiring its nuclear-tipped SUBROC missiles. That weapon is fired from a submarine, flies through the air and drops a nuclear depth charge into the water to attack enemy submarines. A Navy official said the retirement was "imminent."

The Navy also is accelerating the retirement of the ASROC, a nuclear-tipped rocket that is fired from ships at enemy submarines. Norman Polmar, a naval analyst, said he believes that all the ASROC missiles will be removed from warships be fore the end of the year.

It is phasing out nuclear-tipped Terrier missiles used to intercept enemy aircraft.

Navy officials said the retirement of these tactical weapons, which entered service in the early 1960s and are no longer in production, would be completed by about 1991.

Officials say they will decide around 1992 whether to develop a nuclear-armed replacement for the SUBROC and ASROC rockets.

If the Navy does decide to build a replacement, it would be a nuclear version of the Sea Lance anti-submarine missile, which is under development, officials say.

But the officials say that if such an option were chosen, the nuclear version would not be available until the late 1990s.

The Navy's plans to retire the three weapons were uncovered in documents received under the Freedom of Information Act by William M. Arkin, an expert on miltary forces at the Washington-based research group, Institute for Policy Studies.

The Soviet and American navies put sizable arsenals of short-range nuclear weapons to sea in the 1950s and '60s.

Estimates of the size of each Polmar side's short-range nuclear forces vary considerably.

Officials said the Navy decided to phase out the three rockets for several reasons.

First, Navy officials say non-nuclear weapons are more accurate now than they were when the short-range nuclear weapons first were put on ships.

In addition, they say, short-range nuclear weapons for ocean combat take up space on ships and submarines that could be used for non-nuclear weapons, which the United States may need in a conventional war.

The short-range weapons also require special handling, including a guard force, which is expensive and complicates logistics arrangements.

Third, Navy officials say that using nuclear weapons at sea disrupts the performance of sonar and radar equipment needed to fight a war.

There also is a growing view within the Navy that nuclear weapons are a great "equalizer" that allow the Soviet navy to compensate for the United States' large advantages in aircraft carriers and surface ships.

And fifth, there is a shift in Navy thinking as to what nuclear weapons are needed to deter a Soviet nuclear attack on American ships.

The Navy now believes that it can deter a Soviet attack by threatening nuclear retaliation against naval and air bases on Soviet territory.

* SUBROC: Nuclear-tipped weapons that are fired from a submarine, fly through the air and drop a nuclear depth charge to attack enemy subs. A Navy official said their retirement was "imminent."

* ASROC: Nuclear-tipped rockets fired from ships at enemy submarines. Naval analyst Norman Polmar said he believes all ASROC missiles will be removed from warships before the end of the year.